A system which strengthens cooperation among workers in a business organization through flexible real-time communications and also allows interactive real-time data communications between the head of the organization (manager) and workers, thereby promoting communications within the organization and increasing productivity. The system holds: a commitment list which stores information on workers and work categories in which they are engaged, and a relation list which correlates sensing results with work categories in which they are engaged. A worker and work in which he/she is engaged are identified based on sensing result data and this is reflected in the commitment list data, and another worker related to the work is identified and the identified worker is notified of the work.
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1. A work management support system, comprising:
a server with a commitment list storing information on a work category and a first worker relevant to the work category in a correlative manner, and with a relation list storing information on the work category and a first keyword related to the work category in a correlative manner; and
a sensor node which senses the status of the first worker by a sensor and notifies the server of sensed status information,
wherein if the first keyword in the relation list is extracted based on the status information, the server detects the work category in which the first worker is engaged, and updates information on the work category correlated with the first worker in the commitment list.
9. A work management support method in a work management support system comprising a server and a sensor node, the method comprising:
storing information on a work category and a first worker relevant to the work category in a commitment list in a correlative manner, and information on the work category and a first keyword related to the work category in a relation list in a correlative manner by the server;
sensing the status of the first worker by the sensor node;
sending sensed status information from the sensing to the server;
detecting the work category in which the first worker is engaged if the first keyword in the relation list is extracted based on the status information; and
updating information on the work category correlated with the first worker in the commitment list.
2. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the commitment list stores information on a plurality of workers relevant to a specific work category, and the server decides based on the status information on the plural workers whether the workers are doing the same work, and if it decides that they are doing the same work, it updates information on the specific work category correlated with the plural workers.
3. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the first keyword is extracted from a conversation or document relevant to the work which the first worker is doing.
4. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the server further has an interest list storing a second keyword related to each worker in a correlative manner, and if the first keyword extracted in relation to the first worker coincides with the second keyword correlated with a second worker included in the interest list, the server notifies the first worker of information on the second worker.
5. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the server further has an interest list storing a second keyword related to each worker in a correlative manner, and if the first keyword extracted in relation to the first worker coincides with the second keyword correlated with a second worker included in the interest list, the server notifies the second worker of information on the first worker.
6. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the server holds a history of work which each worker is doing and outputs the history for each worker.
7. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the server holds a history of work which each worker is doing and outputs the history for each worker.
8. The work management support system as claimed in
wherein the server holds a history of work which each worker is doing and outputs the history for each worker.
10. The work management support method as claimed in
wherein the commitment list stores information on a plurality of workers relevant to a specific work category, and comprising:
deciding based on the status information on the plural workers whether the workers are doing the same work; and
updating information on the specific work category correlated with the plural workers, if deciding that they are doing the same work.
11. The work management support method as claimed in
wherein the first keyword is extracted from a conversation or document relevant to the work which the first worker is doing.
12. The work management support method as claimed in
storing a second keyword related to each worker in a correlative manner in an interest list, by the server; and
notifying the first worker of information on a second worker if the first keyword extracted in relation to the first worker coincides with the second keyword correlated with the second worker included in the interest list.
13. The work management support method as claimed in
storing a second keyword related to each worker in a correlative manner in an interest list by the server; and
notifying a second worker of information on the first worker if the first keyword extracted in relation to the first worker coincides with the second keyword correlated with the second worker included in the interest list.
14. The work management support method as claimed in
holding a history of work which each worker is doing; and
outputting the history for each worker.
15. The work management support method as claimed in
holding a history of work which each worker is doing; and
outputting the history for each worker.
16. The work management support method as claimed in
holding a history of work which each worker is doing; and
outputting the history for each worker.
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The present application claims priority from Japanese application JP 2005-295838 filed on Oct. 11, 2005, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
The present invention relates to a method which uses electronic circuitry with a wireless communication function to stimulate business communications and strengthen cooperation among workers.
With the recent innovations of information technology as exemplified by the Internet, e-mails, and inexpensive long distance calls, firms' decision making processes seem to be in transition from top-down approaches to decentralization of decision making authority. Now that the sort of information that only senior executives involved in management could access in the past can be instantly accessed by any employee, it becomes indispensable in competition with other companies that workers at worksites make decisions by themselves as promptly as possible. In this connection, it is important that workers cooperate in a flexible manner to reach an optimum solution in the possible shortest time.
Methods of supporting decision making processes include BSC (Balance Score Card) and the commitment list method. The BSC method emphasizes considerations in the aspects of finance, customer, process, and growth. When a decision is made paying attention to balancing among these aspects, a biased judgment can be avoided. In addition, when quantifiable data such as sales and the number of customers are used as indicators for evaluation (metrics) as far as possible, achievements can be made visible.
The commitment list method is a method of expressing business goals in written form. Specifically, commitment lists include descriptions of goals and undertakings as agreed at meetings or by discussions; and tasks, employees in charge, deadline, dependence on other tasks, conditions, and achievement criteria are written there. These lists should tell who is committed to achieving what kind of goals and how the current situation is. Therefore, information on items and conditions should be updated periodically and accessible.
Also, a method of strengthening cooperation among workers, has been proposed in which e-mails among workers are grasped and analyzed and their interrelations and frequencies are visualized in the form of graphs or the like for use as a reference material for making decisions on organizational change (IBM, “Organizational Communication Diagnosis” http://www-1.ibm.com/services/jp/index.wss/offering/bcs/a10 11037, searched on Oct. 4, 2005). Concretely, which department plays a key role in communications, or conversely which department is responsible for communication trouble are found and the findings may be used as indicators.
In recent years, a network system which uses sensors with a small electric circuit having a wireless communication function to input various types of information from the real world into data processors in real time (hereinafter called a “sensor net”) has been under consideration. Such sensor nets have a wide range of potential applications; one example is a medical application in which patient conditions such as pulsation are constantly monitored using a finger-ring type miniature electronic circuit which integrates a wireless circuit, a processor, a sensor and a battery and a monitoring result is transmitted to a diagnostic device through wireless communications so that a health condition can be checked based on the monitoring result (Sokwoo Rhee et al. “Artifact-Resistant Power-Efficient Design of Finger-Ring Plethysmographic Sensors,” IEEE Transactions On Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 48, No. 7, July 2001, pp. 795-805).
On the other hand, the former methods, BSC and the commitment list method, do not ensure real-time data communications though they are useful in indicating the manager's policy or knowing how workers. These methods have a general tendency that since BSC or commitment list data is corrected, checked and transmitted manually, it takes time to update the data and the data is updated only weekly or monthly. As a consequence, even if a work problem occurs, it cannot be detected immediately and a prompt remedial action cannot be taken. Also, if a problem occurs inside an organization, or when there is some change in an external environment and the manager revises the organizational policy or goal, a delay may occur in notifying the workers of the revision and thus waste of labor may result.
Furthermore, regarding cooperation among workers, analysis of e-mails in the former methods only reveals how frequently a worker accesses another worker. What may be important to strengthen cooperation among workers is that workers responsible for similar tasks cooperate or workers skilled in a specific field cooperate with workers interested in the field.
In order to achieve this, the following problems must be solved. First, the manager and workers must be able to exchange information interactively in as much real-time as possible. Therefore, the first problem is that the manager should be able to know in real time what work the workers are doing at their worksites. Particularly it is desirable that the manager can know which worker is engaged in which work category listed in the commitment list and how much.
The second problem is that the manager should be able to communicate his/her policy to workers or give them an instruction about priorities of tasks in as much real time as possible.
On the other hand, cooperation among workers must be strengthened. Concretely, or as the third problem, it is important that, while a worker is at work (for example, he/she is in a meeting or drawing up a document or on the phone), he/she can know in real time which worker is involved in a related task and can access the worker immediately.
As the fourth problem, it may be important that a worker associated with the work (meeting, phone conversation or the like) can be notified in real time that a task related to the work is being performed.
The present invention provides the following solutions to the above problems.
The solution to the first problem is to use data as a sensing result, a commitment list and a relation list which defines the relation between the sensing result data and commitment list items so that work categories in which workers are engaged and working hours are automatically detected and detection results are automatically reflected in the commitment list. For each worker, this system can detect a fact that a worker stays in close proximity to another worker, sense sound or voice through a microphone, extract a keyword from a document produced or accessed on a PC, and enable a worker to explicitly specify a work category using a sensor node.
As for the second problem, the invention offers a solution as follows: when a manager gives an instruction about priorities or the order of priority to a commitment list, a relevant worker and a relevant work category are identified according to the commitment list and a priority instruction is sent to the sensor node which the worker wears and displayed on the LCD of the sensor node as a display device.
As for the third problem, the invention offers a solution as follows. A work category in which each worker is engaged, a keyword and working hours are recorded in a commitment list and a relation list, and each worker enters a keyword in an interest list according to his/her interest. Then, the behavior of a first worker is monitored through a microphone or by extracting a keyword from a document produced or accessed on a PC and also an explicit specification of a work category through a sensor node is received. From this, a work category or relevant keyword is extracted. After that, a second worker related to the extracted work category or keyword is searched from the commitment lists, relation lists and interest lists as mentioned above. If there is a worker which is related to it, information on the second worker is sent to the sensor node which the first worker wears. At the same time, the current location of the first worker is detected by a base station installed in each room or a sensor installed on the chair of each worker and the current location information is shown on a nearby display device, namely a monitor in each room or each worker's PC.
As a solution to the fourth problem, the sensor node of the second worker detected in the process described in connection with the third problem shows that work relevant to his/her work is underway.
The present invention promotes communications between a manager and workers, thereby enabling decision making at the worker level. In such a decision making process and a subsequent implementation process, it is possible to maximize cooperation among workers while paying utmost attention to the manager's intention.
If cooperation among workers is strengthened in this way, a better decision can be made in a shorter time. In addition, a more suitable worker for a specific work category can be accessed without intermediation of the manager.
The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail referring to the accompanying drawings. Like elements are designated by like reference numerals.
The base station BS1 is connected with a camera CO1 and a microphone MI1 so that conversation with another worker WKR2 (CV1) is sensed by the microphone MI1 (SNS1). Alternatively, each sensor node SN0 may incorporate a microphone.
Hereinafter, all the pieces of hardware described above and software programs which run on them, namely the sensor node SN0 and the base station BS1, various sensors, server SV1 and PCs which are connected on the wired network LAN1, and a management support system which runs on them are collectively called the sensor net system SS.
At the same time, the sensor net system SS measures the time for which the worker WKR1 worked to make and edit the document. After that, it updates the data on actually measured man-hours in the corresponding line of the rows RH and RHT of the commitment list CL1 (SA63). The commitment list CL1 thus updated automatically can be accessed by the manager (MA11). Even in the case of conversation, the process is similar: the conversation is sensed through microphones, voice analysis is made to extract a keyword, and the work category which corresponds to the keyword is found.
In another embodiment, RFID or a barcode showing keyword information or work ID information is added to a document which the worker reads or a machine which the worker uses and prior to actual work, it is read to specify the work which the worker is going to do.
In this case, the sensor net system SS senses action WA10 (SA101) and extracts a keyword from the conversation underway there or a document produced on the PC (particularly in the case of a meeting, a presentation material or minutes). When it has successfully identified a keyword, the sensor net system SS refers to the commitment list CL1, relation list RL1 and interest list CK1 and picks up a person who is closely related to the keyword or interested in the keyword. Concretely, the system checks the keyword row RK in the relation list RL1 of
When several workers related to the current work are successfully picked up, the workers may be listed in the order of relevance in order to increase convenience for those who will receive the information. For instance, if a relation list includes a relevant keyword, the system checks the number of man-hours RHT for the relevant work category in the corresponding line of the relevant commitment list CL1. From this, it is possible to know how many hours the worker has been engaged in the work related to the keyword. The numbers of hours which various workers have spent on the work are compared. Since a worker who has spent a longer time may be considered to be related to the work more closely, a higher priority is given to the worker in the displayed list.
If a worker's relation list and interest list includes the keyword, a coworker who is working with that worker may have some kind of information related to the keyword. Therefore, when related workers are listed, it is desirable to list coworkers who are working with them as well. Concretely, the row RC for coworkers in the relation list RL1 is checked to identify a coworker and a corresponding commitment list CL1 is checked to find the collaborating time spent with the coworker. Such coworkers are listed in the descending order of collaborating time.
If the sensor node of the worker WKR1 is communicating with the base station in the meeting room A and the worker WKR1 is assumed to stay in the meeting room A, the same information may appear on a PC or projector screen in the meeting room A.
If it is found from the sensor built in the worker WKR1's chair that the worker WKR1 is seated on the chair and the worker WKR1's PC is in use, the same information may appear on the screen of the worker WKR1's PC.
In this case, the sensor net system SS senses action WA13 (SA101) and extracts a keyword from the conversation underway there or a document produced on the PC (particularly in the case of a meeting, a presentation material or minutes). Then, the sensor net system SS searches to see whether the extracted keyword is included in an interest list (SA112). If the keyword exists, for example, in the worker WKR2's interest list, the location and current work of the worker WKR2 are identified (SA113) and the worker WKR2 is notified that the meeting is underway (SA114). Concretely a notification is transmitted to the sensor node of the worker WKR2 and its screen shows the notification as illustrated in
In this case, it is also possible that the location of the worker WKR2 is identified from the base station with which the sensor node of the worker WKR2 is communicating, the work category in which the worker WKR2 is currently engaged is detected through the process shown in
In this case, if relevant customer and relevant cost center (budget code) information is previously entered in each line of the commitment list shown in
Consequently the manager can obtain information in real time without accessing the PC. It is not adequate to transmit all work information to a sensor node because the sensor node does not have enough electric capacity to deal with such communication and display and its display screen is not large enough to display it. The search function can be used to transmit and display only important information.
This process is exemplified in
The finishing schedule list FL1 and the starting schedule list SL1 may be presented as follows: they may be stored as files in the server or displayed on a PC for real-time access via a Web browser or displayed on a big screen installed in a room for real-time access. If a big screen like an airport arrival/departure display board is installed so as to enable all workers to look at it, it will encourage the workers to have a common sense of purpose and a common awareness of the importance of cooperation and know the individual workers' work processes and achievements.
If the worker has chosen the option “Encounter” on the screen 2801, a screen for options concerning how to choose the person to be contacted appears like screen 2808. If the worker chooses the option “Member list” there, a list of persons which the worker can contact appears. The list can be based on the commitment list. After selection of the person to be contacted, the current location of that person as extracted from the sensor net system SS and the person's schedule as extracted from a relevant schedule list are shown like screen 2810. As the worker chooses an option, a screen for selection of the contact method appears like screen 2811. If the worker chooses the option “Please contact me,” an e-mail may be sent to the person and a message can be sent to the person's sensor node to show the message there.
According to the present invention, in a business group, it is easy to grasp in real time what kind of work each worker is engaged in and also a manager's policy and an instruction about priority can be sent to workers in real time and a worker can easily access another worker skilled in the work in which he/she is now engaged.
Yano, Kazuo, Moriwaki, Norihiko, Ara, Koji
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